Landscape of Virginia

Preparing to take a much needed vacation from the ongoing work done here in Charlottesville...I'm leaving it all behind for a little while to head up to see some friends in Berkeley Springs and then onto Philadelphia to visit someone important in my life. It should be a real joy to do all this in the next week. I'm thankful to have gott'n a good number of paintings done already in the first half of my summer break. I am hopeful about getting some more done once I return. I have some larger canvases that are ready to be painted upon and it maybe that I might feel like heading back to the comic supermarket with my brushes and paint. That's my feeling today, and I'm going to take my time driving, no need to get their five minutes faster because there is a slower truck in front of me that I've got to pass...no wwaaayyy baby!! I'll just slow it down. The painting I'm showing today was a little afterthought of whimsy due to painting houses with nothi...

The new day brings art into the realm of possibilities. So it has gone this summer once awake I can see how making something new and thoughtful can happen with a little bit of effort. I gather my cat and check to make sure he is ok, that he has water, dry food and that the A/C is on for him. Once that is taken care of I gather my equipment and the new fresh canvas that I put together a couple of months ago just for this quick exit purpose and I split. My car is my artbox, it has my traveling Julianne easel and paints, medium with my brushes in a box with them all. I take off. Once out, I have a preconceived idea of some possible sites along a street I decided I should concentrate on for this summer's work. In the previous days I have driven up and down it slowly looking at the various vantage points with houses of interest in view. I think of a part of the street where there might be a house or two with interesting architectural features and so that is where I park....

In becoming a member of Mc Guffey I am able to access their drawing group that meets three times a week with a live model which one may draw from in order to improve one's drawing skills. Some people think all one gets out of doing such drawings is "a bunch of drawings of a nude standing around" when one is done. I have to disagree, if one becomes disciplined in drawing the human body then one can move on into the world around us. Due to the fact that to my thinking the human being is one of the most complicated forms to master drawing. To be convincing one must master many abilities in drawing and art before one can say they 'have it down', I always find the human form to be the very best challenges in art to draw and I doubt anyone actually ever masters the skill because each model brings so much new forms to light. But maybe that's just me. I plan to attend as many groups as I can to get into the skills it takes to do the human being convincingly enou...

The end result wasn't all that bad. It was a fun one to mess with, I brought out all I could to keep it interesting for both me and the viewer. I think one needs to look at the surface of those red walls closely in order to get the full enjoyment of this painting of the Blood Red House on the streets of Charlottesville.

The summer painting season got off with a blast of painting outdoors. I set up the very day after being released from work obligations. It was a very cool breezy day when I set up my outdoor easel and got to work under the shade of a street tree. It became a desirable place and time to paint. I worked in the morning and enjoyed the weather, I felt like the day was made by God for me and me alone. It was perfect to work outdoors in and I did so. The resulting painting wasn't the best of all my efforts but it was ok. I was asked to do one by the owner of this house that actually did catch my attention due to it's wonderfully designed and built porch on the front of this corner house. It's very typical of those Civil War era homes that saw it's children and husband go off to the War from it's porches, and so I felt drawn to it in some odd but strong way. And so I set up and painted it.

  It's only once in a loog while that I will find myself on a farm but today was one of those times: we visited the Hey family farm out in Stoney Point. We had a really great visit, we first of all were greeted by a really nice couple and their son. Then we got the royal tour, followed by some animal touch and feeling, which was just great. This particular rabbit is named Melony and she is Richie's delight and also of interest to one of our students as well. During our time all of us got a chance to be with this delightful creature named Melony. Sure it was balzing hot but we stood under a shade tree and we dealt with it. After our tour we had a great brownbag lunch then after those refresting moments we gathered our belongings and headed back to school for a half-day well done.

  This was the site from my neighbor's yard this past spring, and it was a pure delight to behold. I enjoyed the mild weather and the beauty around us this time.